32 comments:

There is a person who does this every night in the childrens area. She dumps all kinds of food out and the rats swarm to it. I confronted her once and she flew into a rage. I see her there all the time and the park staff do nothing about it. And people wonder why there's a rat problem. There's a people problem. How to handle the crazies who do this?

With all the police presence in the area, can't there be an early morning plain-clothes officer keeping an eye out for this? Obviously, I wouldn't normally say that a plain-clothes officer is warranted for something like this, but if we are going to have heavy police presence (which I am in favor of) let's use it.

Ratalapooza: I did the same thing! She started screaming at me about people starving during the Holocaust, which somehow justified her feeding the rats. Parks just doesn't give a damn. We all spot these people - why can't they?

There is a local ring of netters that drive around the city in a green van all day trapping pigeons in big nets. They put down birdseed or breadcrumbs and wait for a flock to start feeding. They can scoop up dozens of birds at a time. After netting the birds they run back to the green van and speed off to the next location with a hundreds of pigeons in crates in the back. They sell the pigeons for a few dollars apiece to shooting ranges in Pennsylvania where hunters get to shoot at and kill live birds. So which one do you prefer, the people feeding the birds or the people who trap them so they can be killed?

I object to the devalueing term "netters" - why not just go all the way and call them squab-baggers - these legacy gatherers are doing a heroic duty to remove a filthy disgusting overpopulated animal. The State just won't take care of this public health issue. Instead, we have a layer of pigeon waste covering our parks so that they can't really be used. I wish they'd come get the flock behind the 5th St precinct, they cover everything behind the restaurants on 6th st with a white and green blotches. the mourning doves are ok.

8:10 a filthy disgustng overpopulated animal huh? Says you. Some apply that description to humans. They are in the dove family, mate for life, raise their young as couples and ever hear of carrier pigeons? Come get the flock?? If I ever see anyone aid and abet these netters aka criminals I will be first to have them ARRESTED. Besides being disgustingly cruel, it is ILLEGAL to net wildlife

It's not just crazy old ladies feeding rats in the park... There are a few people on my block who do it in front of their buildings. I once asked an older-middle-aged woman to stop because of the rats, and the way she cursed me out... Wow. Having grown up in catholic Eastern Europe, I appreciate that some people have a strong attachment to bread in particular, and would hate to throw it out, but there's gotta be a better way...

My whole reason for cussing out these pigeon-feeders is that the more bread and other rat-attractive food the streets are littered with, the more rats the city will seek to kill, and will respond to the situation by putting more poison into the groundwater. This affects all of us.

It's a last-ditch effort, as anyone who's attended the Rat University knows; the city tries to focus on rat-prevention, not rat-poisoning, but a successful effort depends on the participation of everyone, and we know not everyone's doing their share.

It is a big problem, particularly with the older pigeon-feeders, because for them, starving anything, even a rat, hits too close to home. I launched into my diatribe once with an older woman who spoke English, and she turned on me: "You've just never been hungry!" she spat.

Shouldn't confront these people as if they were rational. They are all mentally ill. They will always freak out and threaten to stab you, etc.Maybe call 311, or rat hotline, or parks dept? I dunno. Seems it's just one of those things that nobody will ever solve.

The woman who feeds them is mentally ill to a scary extent. One evening when my eight-year-old and I walked into the bus shelter on Ave. A because we were 1) catching a bus and 2) getting out of the rain while doing so, we accidentally scattered the birds she was 'feeding' inside the shelter. Wow, was she terrifying--screaming invective and trying to kick me and my son. It took a lot of discussion afterward so my son wouldn't have nightmares about her that night. She may love the pigeons, but she sure does hate the humans!

It is illegal to feed undomesticated animals in the five boroughs. As confirmed by the pro-pigeon commenters, people who feed pigeons care only about themselves and the enjoyment they gain from feeding the pigeons and rats, and do not care about their fellow human beings. They convince themselves they are moral exemplars while they cover benches in pigeon shit and breed rats that spread disease.

I, too, have stopped by the Parks office inside Tompkins Sq Park numerous times complaining about the bread drops for at least 10 years. Gallons of pasta are disgusting, but the worst was the cooked lamb head with eyes still in the sockets.

Folks, it is time to complain to Community Board 3. Complaints can be submitted anonymously.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb3/html/forms/service_complaint.shtml

CB3 acts when no one else will. It can also encourage law enforcement to do something about this.

Many thanks for publishing the photograph, EV Grieve. You are the best!

Lastly, bread isn't good for birds. It isn't necessarily bad for them, as long as they have access to actually nutritive food, but as some commenters here have remarked, bird-feeders offering bread are only interested in fulfilling a need in themselves, and don't really care about the birds. (I think we knew that already.)

I12:06 t is not illegal to feed pigeons - please post the NYC ordinance saying so. And btw, no one is condoning giant heaps of bread,pasta and sickening lamb heads. And guess what? SOME people can care about humans and other animals on the planet at the same time - some sadly cannot.

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